Right now, your mind might be wandering to the big adventure that is giving birth. According to many mothers, reading about the experience of others brought them the most enlightenment and comfort.

You never know how birth will be until you’re in the moment. But, hearing about the many directions birth stories take seems to bring a level of peace that educational articles don’t always offer.

Start Exercising – If you’ve never been a gym goer or fitness guru in the past, now is not the time to start. But, many moms feel the need and actually have the energy to give exercising a go during the second trimester.

18 Weeks Pregnant: Your Belly

In fact, it’s about the size of a cantaloupe or even a little bigger. If you put two fingers sideways and held it under your bellybutton, you’ll probably feel the edge of your uterus.

As your belly grows, other parts of you are likely to follow its lead. Some ways to care for all your growing parts are simply to stick to a healthy diet, use lotion on the skin that’s expanding, and stretch your ligaments and muscles to keep comfortable.

18 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms & Changes in Your Body

Dizziness – Because your cardiovascular system has and is undergoing dramatic changes, your blood pressure is much lower than it was pre-pregnancy.

This might cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded when you stand up quickly. For many reasons in addition to coping with the cardiovascular changes, avoid any sudden movements.

Also, to keep a steady blood flow throughout your body and to your baby, lie on your side when you are napping, resting, or sleeping.

Dry Eyes – The dramatic hormonal changes that happen in your body during pregnancy can cause tear production to decrease.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to cry. What it does mean is that you might experience dry eyes. You might have altered vision, as well.

Sometimes it might seem that your contact lenses or glasses don’t work as well as they used to. Be comforted in knowing that your eyes will likely return to normal after you give birth.

For now, give your eyes more breaks from things like the computer screen, direct airflow (sitting in front of an A/C), and being outside.

Bodily Fluids – Although your eyes might be experiencing dryness, other parts of your body are probably making up for it. It’s common for you to have increased vaginal discharge, sweat more, and to experience leaky breasts at some point.

These are simply the product of the intense concoction of hormones rushing through your pregnant body. Once the hormones have leveled off after birth, the bodily fluids will return to normal.

18 Weeks Pregnant: With Twins

Now that you’ve likely lost sight of your feet and toes, you might not have visually noticed the swelling going on down there.

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